Affirmations (Part 2!)

So now that you understand how to use affirmations for yourself let’s talk about how to use them to influence and uplift your kids.

Affirmations really help engrain your child with positive thoughts and positive energy, and they can really help solidify your child’s confidence and self-worth.

Even if affirmations “never really worked for you,” that’s okay, because they certainly work 100% of the time in children. Use them, embrace them, and give your child the gift of positivity and confidence every day.

When a child can take an affirmation and then say, “I am great,” it goes in and becomes the belief that they create in their lives. So, depending on how old your child is, you can start by telling them, “You’re great” when they do something that should be awarded. And as your child grows, have them say, “I am great” when they do something that warrants a reward.

We can compliment our kids all day long, but that’s nothing in comparison to our kids internalizing it and believing it themselves. At first, you’ll have to be the one to tell them to say, “I am great” or “I am abundant,” but what you’ll realize really quickly is that they’ll start to do it on their own without being told.

For instance, just the other day we were out at dinner and Maxim, who is two years old, dropped his toy. He climbed down to get it and found a quarter. He came up holding the quarter and sang the song, “I am abundant. Doopie, doopie, doopie.”

We’ve been doing it for so long that I don’t need to tell him what to say. He knows, he feels it, and most importantly, he believes it and it’s who he is.

I remember when my other son, Alex, would be afraid to do something. At those times, I would tell him, “You are powerful. You are courageous.” And then he’d do it. After a while, whenever he felt fear about something, he would just say, “I’m powerful,” and then do it.

Now, for the rest of his life, whenever he feels fear, he’ll naturally think, “I’m powerful,” instead of what most of us naturally do when we feel fear—to look at all the bad outcomes and how we shouldn’t take the risk. Can you imagine how much happier you’d be if fear didn’t get in the way? That’s what we’re giving our kids. That’s the kind of foundation that will serve them for the rest of their lives.

Now, don’t get me wrong—fear can sometimes be a good thing, as it’s a natural instinct that triggers our “fight or flight” mode. But for many of us, we’ve conditioned ourselves to be afraid of things that pose no threat to our physical bodies, and we end up holding ourselves back from being as powerful as we deserve to be.